Page 36 of Heathens

“What, the tip?” She fires back. “Thought you gave that to me the other night.”

Her eyes shine with a glint of cruelty as she takes my empty shot glass and tucks it beneath the bar.

“For me to stop coming in,” I clarify with a grin. “Is that what you want?”

“Do you think giving me more money is going to get you that drink?”

“Well, money talks, and if you can’t tell, I’ve got a gift for the gab.”

She scoffs and shakes her head.

“You’re tenacious.”

“Have to be in my line of work.”

“Good point. What line of work was that again, Mr. Duncan? I mean, we’ve all seen your highrise, but what exactly is it you do?”

“Anything I want,” I reply as she pours herself a drink with the hint of a sour expression on her face.

I get the feeling she puts up this front for her own protection. She’s a little cold and defensive. She should be. It’s a dangerous world outside these doors — hell, even inside of them.

She holds up the glass, and I smirk.

“Atta girl,” I praise, relishing the deep crimson on her cheeks.

There’s only the smallest threat of a smile, nothing ever fully forming on her face. It must be hard to fake it. Vampires can be civil, but we flip like a light switch. I wouldn’t trust us if I were human.

The air hangs thick between us, like a cloud carrying a month’s worth of rain, aching for release. Her pulse isn’t slowing, and her skin looks like it would be scorching to the touch. I ache to slide my hand between her thighs and listen to her whimper for me all over again. The way she throbbed beneath my touch was fucking heaven.

I can hear her breath hitch, even over the music, as she lifts her drink to her lips. I shake my head and hold out my glass, signaling for her to clink hers with mine. She obliges me and a thrill shoots through my veins.

“Was that so bad?” I tease.

She swallows her whiskey.

“The drink is amazing. Everything else… It’s been fine so far.”

She pours another drink and slams it back, probably an effort to calm her nerves. It doesn’t look like it’s doing much good. Her hand is shaking as she sets the glass back down onto the counter and stares at me.

For a moment, everything and everyone else melts away, and it feels like it’s just the two of us here.

“You look nervous,” I observe.

“I’m not afraid of you.”

A lie.

Humans are so bad at this shit. I can smell her fear from where I’m standing, mixed perfectly with her perfume. It’s different today. Fresh oranges, bergamot, and a hint of something earthy, like petrichor. I wonder who she buys from. The back of my neck tingles along with my jaw, and I reach back, rubbing at the skin.

“Oh, you’re not?”

“No.”

“And why not? You don’t think I’m dangerous?”

“Because I know if any vamp tries anything in here, they’d be eating silver in less than a minute, even DominicFuckingDuncan.”

I grin and lick my bottom lip. Her eyes trace my tongue every step of the way.

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